How Much Paint for a 10x10 Room?
Paint needed
1.75 gallons
A 10 by 10 room with eight foot walls, one door, one window, two coats.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Room perimeter, add all walls40 ft
- Wall height8 ft
- Doors1
- Windows1
- Coats2
- Coverage per gallon350 sq ft
Paint needed1.75 gallons
| Gross wall area | 320 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Less doors and windows | -36 sq ft |
| Net wall area | 284 sq ft |
| Area over 2 coats | 568 sq ft |
| Gallons, exact | 1.62 |
| Buy | 2 gallonsor 1 five gallon pail |
The material list this produces
| Paint, gallons | 2 |
|---|---|
| Primer, gallons (if bare or color change) | 1 |
| Painter's tape, rolls | 1 |
Coats compared
Coats is the input people get wrong, usually by hoping. Same room, one coat to three.
| Coats | Paint needed |
|---|---|
| 1 coat | 1 gallon |
| 2 coats | 1.75 gallons |
| 3 coats | 2.5 gallons |
What else matters here
The walls of a 10 by 10 room are 320 square feet gross, and about 284 once a door and a window come out. Two coats over that is 568 square feet of paint, which at the usual 350 square feet per gallon is one and three quarter gallons.
That awkward figure is why a room this size is the classic case for buying two gallons rather than one gallon and a quart. The quart costs nearly as much per ounce as the gallon, and the leftover from the second gallon is what you touch up with for the next five years.
If the walls are bare drywall or you are covering a dark color, prime first and count the primer separately. Primer on new board is not optional, it is what stops the first coat soaking in unevenly and leaving the joints visible through the finish.
What this calculator assumes
- A door is taken as 21 sq ft and a window as 15 sq ft. Deducting them matters on a small room and barely moves a big one.
- 350 sq ft per gallon is the usual figure on a smooth primed wall. Bare drywall, textured walls and deep color changes all drink more, so drop it to 300 if any of those apply.
- Ceilings and trim are not included. Run the ceiling as its own area.
Questions people ask
How much paint for a 10x10 room?
About 1.75 gallons for two coats on eight foot walls, so buy two gallons. One gallon does one coat with a little to spare.
Does one gallon cover a 10x10 room?
For one coat, yes, with a small amount left over. For two coats, which is what a color change needs, you want two gallons.
Do I need primer in a 10x10 room?
Yes on bare drywall, on patched repairs, and on any significant color change. One gallon of primer covers the room in a single coat.
The paint calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.